英汉颜色词对比_英文_(1)

作者简介萨仁其其格， 内蒙古兴安盟人， 呼和浩特民族学院外语系助教。 A Contractive Study on Terms of Color between Chinese and English Sarenqiqige ( Foreign Language Department，Huhhot Nationality College，Huhhot，Inner Mongolia， 010051) AbstractColor displays the splendid and gorgeous nature and words of color manifest great impressive power However rooted in different cultural backgrounds，words of color bound to take the brand of national characteristics This paper discusses the differences of color words between English and Chinese by means of contract，indicating that due to dif- ferent language habits，historic backgrounds，traditional customs and so on，there are many differences in the use of colors and color words as well as in the understanding and meaning of same color Therefore，it is practically useful to know and study the differences，thus promoting the cultural communication and translation practice Key wordscolor words; cultural difference; semantic 中图分类号H314 文献标识码A 文章编号1672- 8610( 2010) 09- 0023- 02 I Introduction English and Chinese color words have different semantic meanings and usages，because lots of color words are produced under special historical and geographical background，most of which are called“culture limited words” If we do not under- stand these words and the social custom，culture background of it，it is even harder for us to communicate with each other For example，there is a brand which called 白象 in China When the company tries to do some international trade with the western countries they translate the brand directly in this way white ele- phant However something bad happened and this company lost a lot What is the reason?Because，in English“a white elephant” means something is valueless In this way，we can know that no one want to eat this kind of food From this example we can real- ize that culture difference is very important in international com- munication McLuhan characterized today s world as a“global village”because of the rapid expansion of worldwide transporta- tion and communication network In order to minimize misunder- standings when we communicate with people from other cultures， we need to understand the process of intercultural communica- tion In this paper，the author only grasp the differences between the literal meaning and amplifying meaning of some English and Chinese color words It is just the ice berg of intercultural com- munication But，if once reads this paper carefully，he would gets something useful Semantic meanings of English and Chinese color words Semantic meanings of English and Chinese color word are same in some sides，but different in many aspects Due to the respective cultural background and tradition，some phrases con- taining color words have far surpassed their original meanings， forming different connotations What does see red mean?If he is in the blue mood， what kind mood is he in? Is he happy， sad， or what?Obviously，red and blue do not just mean the color Each has additional meaning certain cultural associations that are hidden behinds the words The following part will be devoted to the discussion of cultural differences of certain 2 1 Red Red is the most powerful color on the planet and it is rife with contradictions Its universal meaning is heat，blood，dan- ger，and emotion A red light means that the doctor is in Red heads are supposed to be fire brands In both Chinese and Eng- lish，red is usually associated with happy occasion On calen- der，we can find that holidays such as Spring Festival are printed in red，which is called“red letter days” ，while ordinary days are in black However，red has different meaning in English and Chinese For example，in the Qing dynasty，the book that was authorized by the emperor is called“red book” It is different from the“red book”in English speaking country which means the book with red cover In China， during the culture revolution， every one should keep one or two books about Chairman Mao It was called“red treasured book” As same as in English coun- tries，such words related with history and geography has its prop- er meaning For example，the American financial institution en- closes the poor area with red line and refuses to provide loan to this area which made the area poorer This was called red lining During the American Civil War，the British soldiers wore scarlet service uniform 32 语文学刊外语教育教学2010 年第 9 期 They were called red coat Red is also associated with cer- tain emotions Let us see a few examples: Her face turned red when bombarded with such an embar- rassing question When he criticized my work，I really saw red The mere mention of his enemy s name is like waving a red flag to him In English her face turned red or to become red faced shows one s embarrassment，as it does in Chinese 脸红 But what is the meaning of see red and waving a red flag?Both sug- gest anger The former means to become very angry while the lat- ter means to cause quick anger in somebody by doing something offensive Furthermore，red has some extended meanings，such as cruelty，disaster etc 2 2 White In ancient China，white was a color to show gentle and sim- ple White clothes，white house and white body are separately means civilian， grass house and people who have no power They make people think of humbleness and poor To most Chinese and Westerners，white has some meanings in common White suggests purity，innocence and honesty Ex- ample;Mary is a white girl ( pour and innocent) The connotation of white in Chinese also includes something unhappy At funerals，Chinese pay respect to dead and express their sorrow by wearing white and writing elegiac couplets in white paper In the West，however，white is the traditional color for the brides at weddings，and to wear white at funerals would be offensive So care should be taken in translating the phrases 红白喜事 To avoid misunderstanding，we can put it simply as weddings and funerals Talking about red and white，there is an interesting coincidence in Chinese and English In Chinese those who are popular and find favor with their bosses are called 红人 ( red guy literally) But Irish people call them the white headed boy In this sense，red equals white in the two cultures 2 3 Black In English，we have the phrase “black Friday” In reli- gion，black means grief，despair and death Friday refers to the Friday before Easter day Jesus was suffering at that day Base on the nation s culture background and traditional custom，the people in English countries use black Friday symbolize the disas- ter It is as same as in Chinese In China，people always use black to describe some evils or terrible things，for example， blackmail( 勒索) ，blacklist( 黑名单) etc but in the following sentence，black has good meaning For example，since he took over the business，the company has been in black That black means running the business profitably Besides，black implies gloom，disgrace，misfortune，extreme anger，etc Some distinct differences between the color words in English and Chinese According to the above comparison and analysis， we can see that there are distinct differences between the color words in Chi- nese and English Sometimes，Chinese may not use the color words when they are used in English expressions and vice versa Let us see a few examples containing the Chinese character 红 红人:a favorite with somebody in power 红榜:honor roll 红利:bonus;extra divided 红运:good luck 红光满面:one s face glowing with health 红茶:black tea 红绿灯:traffic light I believe the above mentioned examples illustrate the point On many occasion，it is not the basic meaning of the color that functions，but the profound cultural associations related to the color that functions This is to say，the differences in using color words between Chinese and English stand out when the color words themselves do not play an important part Two factors may help to illustrate First is the language itself There are many differences in the characteristics of both languages English words are characterized by flexibility One word is likely to have different meanings in different contents Comparatively speaking， the meanings of Chinese words remain fixed Chinese is featured by standard，rigor and preciseness in choosing the words Let s take the word green for example Green gains certain new mean- ings when associated with the phrase green revolution and when it is used alone，it still carries that meaning However，green in Chinese will lose the meaning unless it is combined with revolu- tion or other words in similar Second is the factor beyond the language，which includes the cultural factors such as different customs，traditions and cultural background Whenever the above mentioned differences exist，the using of the color words can not be the same Therefore，special attention should be paid in using the color words Conclusion Above are my understandings of the differences between Chinese and English on color words Actually，because of histor- ical，geographical background and traditional social customs， every language has their own characteristics and features In the past，most human beings were born，lived，and died within a limited geographical area，never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds Such an existence however，no longer pre- vails in world The international and domestic changes in the past decades have brought us into direct and indirect contact with people who，because of their cultural diversity，often behave in ways that we do not understand It is no longer difficult to find social and professional situations in which members of once isola- ted groups of people communicate with members of other cultural groups Now people from different culture may live right next door to each other The reason is the world becomes the“global village”because of modern technology We can now board a plane and fly anywhere in the world in a matter hour Communi- cation satellites， sophisticated television transmission equipment， and the World Wide Web now allow people throughout the world to share information and ideas at the same time So how to un- derstand and communicate with people from other cultures becomes an issue As a foreign language learner，we must pay attention to those culture differences and help us to master foreign language and communicate with the people from other smoothly and efficiently ( 下转第 27 页) 42 LANGUAGESarenqiqige / A Contractive Study on Terms of Color between Chinese and English 俄语中均适用。 ( 2) Ich schreibe meiner Mutter einen Brief 第三格第四格 ( 我在给我母亲写信。 ) 第四格第三格 5 俄语中的第五格( 即工具格) ， 在德语中常用介词 mit + 第三格代替。 ( 1) Er schreibt mit dem Bleistift ( 他用铅笔写。 ) 俄语中的第六格( 即前置格) ， 只能与前置词连用。这些 前置词在德语中也都能找到对应的介词。如 = in( 在 里) = auf( 在上) = ber( 关于) 等。如: ( 2) Die Kinder spielen im Zimmer ( 孩子们在房间里玩。 )